Mr Ivan GARVALOV 

Graduate of the Sofia State University (now St. Kliment Ohridsky University), Fine Arts Faculty, 1953; Specializations: international relations, international law, political sciences; 1953-1956 - on the staff of Radio Sofia English Language Broadcasts;

Joined the Bulgarian Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1956; Diplomatic posts: India, Burma, Indonesia, Egypt, the United Nations (New York);

Positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Ambassador and Director of United Nations and Disarmament Dept., Human Rights Dept., United Nations and Human Rights Dept.,

First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (1991)

Diplomatic activities in the United Nations: Member of the Bulgarian delegations to the regular sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Special General Assembly sessions, and its Main Committees (1971-191);

Represented Bulgaria at the Security Council in 1986-1987;

Member of the Bulgarian delegations to various United Nations organs dealing with international security, disarmament, political affairs, decolonization, human rights, social and humanitarian affairs, international law;

Member in individual capacity of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (1988 - 2000);

Member, Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Council of Europe (2004-2008), Member ECRI (2008-2013);

Elected Chairman of United Nations bodies: UN General Assembly’s Third Committee of the (1980), United Nations Commission on Human Rights (1982), UN General Assembly’s Special Committee on Enhancing the Effectiveness of the Principle of Non-Use of Force in International Relations (1983), ECOSOC Social Committee (1985), United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) (1994, 1995), CERD Contact Group for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (1998-1999);

Took part in the drafting of the following international human rights instruments: International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; International Convention on the Rights of the Child; Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities; Declaration on Religious Intolerance; Security Council Resolutions on the Iran-Iraq War (1986-1987); Final Document of the OSCE Meeting of Human Dimensions (Copenhagen 1990);

Co-author of the following UN documents: On Human Rights Education, doc. E/C.12/1994/WP.28; Measures to Eliminate Racial Discrimination and Ethnic Violence; Early-Warning Systems and Urgent Actions, doc. HR/GVA/DR/SEM/1999/BP.2, dated 29 November 1999; Preventing Genocide, doc. E/CN.4/1999/WG.1/BP.9, for the needs of the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (1999); Joint Working Paper on Article 7 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (E/CN.4/Sub. 2/1998/4, 10 June 1998);

Publications:

“United Nations, Centre for Possible Missions” (Sofia, 2005); “Right of Self-Determination of Peoples” (Sofia, 2008); “60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights” (2008); Decolonization as the greatest success of the United Nations” (2009), ‘50 years since Bulgaria’s admission to the United Nations’ (2010).

Lecturer and Member of the National Advisory Council of the Diplomatic Institute of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.
 

Present position:

Ambassador, President, United Nations Association of Bulgaria